3 years running an addiction helpline...

I’ve had the great privilege of speaking with several thousand people about addiction and thought it might be of interest to reflect on some of what I’ve learned and heard, so far.

Here are 10 observations, in no particular order:

1.    Family members often notice the problem long before the individual who’s suffering directly with addiction.  

(Around six in ten calls to our helpline are from ‘concerned others’)

2.    Those struggling with substance-use disorders or alcoholism often have very little awareness of what support is available, even when they have actively sought help via the NHS. 

(One third of calls we have with those who are motivated and willing to seek help have already seen their GP - yet they often haven’t been thoroughly appraised of the options that are available to them. We've started working with GPs to try and raise awareness - a long road ahead here, I'm sure.) 

3.    Support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous attract huge stigma 

(And I scratch my head regularly and wonder what AA could do to attract more members…more on this here)

4.    People tend to reach out at a point of crisis.  Our phone rings when the consequences of someone’s drinking, using or behaviour are impacting severely (loss of job, driving licence, relationship breakdown, health issues and so forth).  How can ‘we’ intervene earlier?  What education is available around addiction? (very little, in truth) and who’s doing what to try and prevent so many from the slippery and often inexorable slope from drinking to problem drinking to dependency?

5.    More workplaces are calling us, which is really positive – and the taboo and stigma here seems to be slowly dissipating.

6.    Treatment services aren’t visible and with little brand awareness in the sector, coupled with the fact that people are often entrenched in shame, mean people need and want confidential, impartial support and guidance.

7.    The most common phrase used by callers to describe the drama, chaos and exhaustion of addiction is ‘At the end of my tether’

8.    Addiction really is no respector of persons.  It does not discriminate and we hear from all demographics.

9.    When we disclose to a caller that we are in recovery ourselves, they feel a huge relief. The therapeutic value of ‘one’ talking to another, really is without parallel.

10.  People thank us for listening, which recharges the batteries like nothing else.

As ever, I've maybe raised more questions than I've answered here. What I do know for sure is that I’m immensely proud of the work we do here and the small part we play in helping people break the cycle of addiction. Thank you for your interest and support. If you or someone you know is struggling, we're here to help.